Together
by LarryJamesMalik
Summary: What would happen if Peeta and Katniss were together before the games?  How would that change things? First Fanfic!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first fanfic! Please give this a chance! BTW, totally team PEETA!

Together

Part 1: The Capitol

Chapter 1

I woke with a start._ It was just a dream,_ I reminded myself. My pulse thudded loudly in my ears. In my dream, the two people that I loved most in the world, Prim and Peeta, were sent to the Games.

Prim is my little sister, who I've had to take care of since I was eleven. My father had recently died in a mining accident, and we were slowly starving to death. That's where Peeta came in.

_I trudged through the alley behind the Merchants businesses and homes. The rain was coming down in icy gray sheets. In my soaked hands, I carried old baby clothes of Prim's. When I dropped them, I couldn't bring myself to bend down and get them, for fear I might collapse and be unable to get up. _

_The back door to the baker's was open, and the sweet scent of fresh bread wafted out. Without thinking, I sloshed over to open the trash can. Before I could even lay a finger on it, a plump women came out of the bakery and started shrieking at me. "Get away, you Seam scum! I will contact the Peacekeepers! Leave now!" _

_I noticed a little blond boy peering out from behind his mother's back. Was Pete his name? Peter? _

_I backed away, and the woman finally left. I walked over and leaned against the apple tree in their yard and collapsed. The weight that I wouldn't have anything to bring home hit me all at once. Prim, her cracked lips and hollow cheeks, her eyes full of hope. My mother, who was in a deep depression, and her dead eyes._

_Suddenly, their was a screech and the sound of a blow. Who had been hit? I couldn't bring myself to care when I heard footsteps. "Feed it to the pigs, you worthless creature!"_

_I glanced up, and saw the boy walking in my direction. But that's not what caught my attention. In his hands, were two slightly burned loaves of bread. He marched right up to me and handed me the bread, and then he turned on his heel and marched back into the bakery. _

_That night, our stomachs were full for the first time in months. We ate a whole loaf, slice by slice. It was a whole, hearty bread with grains and raisins. _

_The next morning at school, I saw the boy. He was in my History class. I timidly walked over to him. He had a black eye and his cheek was swollen. A pang of guilt shot through me. Was that what the blow was? His mother striking him?_

_He glanced up at me and quickly looked away, murmuring a hello. A completely different hurt went through me. Was he embaressed to be seen talking to me? I risked it. "Thank you." He looked up to me slowly, his eyes bright and blue. "For the bread."_

_He opened his mouth to speak when the bell rang. I gave him a quick smile and hurried back to my seat. "Alright, children, today you will be given a project on coal production. Get with a partner and start discussing your papers." The teacher walked from the front of the classroom back to her desk. I bit my lip. Partners? I've never spoken to anyone in-_

_"Hello. Do you have a partner?" _

_I looked up. I was shocked, it was the boy. He had plenty of friends in this class. I glanced over to them, and they were glaring in my direction. With my attention back on him, I smiled and said "No, you're free to join me if you like." He grinned and pulled up a chair._

_With careful handwriting, at the top of the page he printed "Katniss and Peeta." I smiled._

_Katniss and Peeta._

_Peeta._

We had been inseperable ever since. Two years ago, when we were fourteen, he asked me to the school dance. What had started out as a little crush turned into full-blown love that day. We had our first kiss a couple of months later.

I glanced at the cold spot on the bed beside me. Where was Prim? I looked over at my mother's bed. She was there, she probably had a nightmare in the middle of the night and crawled in with her. Of course she had a nightmare. Today was the reaping.

Every year, the capitol sends two children, a boy and a girl, from every district to take part in a brutal slaughtering called the Hunger Games. There are twelve districts. Every person from the ages of twelve through eighteen has their name entered at least once. Prim is twelve. Peeta and I are sixteen. Gale is eighteen.

I got out of bed and changed into my hunting clothes. I didnt want to think of the possibilities of the Games right now. I didn't want to worry.

I walked into the kitchen. Sitting under a bowl, wrapped in basil leaves, was goat cheese. A rush of appreciation coarsed through me. Prim, always thinking of others. Smiling to myself, I swung out the door and headed towards the woods.

I followed the worn trail to our rock. When I got there, Peeta and Gale were both already there, waiting for me. I grinned. "Good morning," I said to Gale.

"Hey," was his response.

Peeta was smiling at me as I walked towards him. I stretched up on toes to kiss him lightly on the lips. "Well, good morning to you too," he said, and leaned down for another kiss.

Gale cleared his throat. I blushed madly and stepped away from Peeta. Peeta laughed. "So," Gale started. "Look what I shot!" I followed his finger to a loaf of bread with an arrow through it.

"Almost got my hand," Peeta grumbled to himself.

I laughed and said, "Good shot!" I walked over to the rock and leaned against it. "So, where are we meeting up after the reaping?" I looked between Gale and Peeta, waiting for an answer.

"Your house, I guess," Peeta said, looking at me. I looked at Gale. He nodded in assent.

"Okay, then, it's settled. I brought cheese. Courtesy of Prim," I said, and we settled down to have breakfast.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Well, I guess I'll see you guys later," Gale said, and disappeared under the fence.

I turned to Peeta. I gave him a weak smile, when my bottom lip started wobbling. I was immediately in his arms, crying my eyes out.

"But she's so young. She doesn't deserve to be in the reaping! She's just a child! Prim! Oh, Peeta, what do I do if she gets picked?" A new round of tears sprung up.

Peeta stroked my hair. "Katniss, she won't get picked. I promise. If she does get picked, she's smart. She would know to get away from the cornucopia and find water. Nothing is going to happen to her. I'll make sure of it." And somehow, I believed him.

We made our way out of the woods and to my house. I took a deep breath and looked up to him. He smiled down sadly at me. "Nothing's going to happen. Everything will be okay."

He kissed me, and when he pulled away, I murmured, "I love you."

He smiled. "I love you, too." With that he turned and walked back to his side of town.

Still a little dazed from his lips, I turned and walked up the stairs to our small house. When I walked in, my mother was braiding Prim's hair and humming to herself. They were both already dressed in nice clothes, the reaping started in an hour. Funny how we had to dress up to be sentenced to death.

Both my mother and Prim looked at me. "Oh, Katniss, I ran the water for your bath. I left you a dress in the washroom."

I smiled to my mother. "Thank you, I will be down in a few minutes," I replied. I walked down the hallway to the restroom. We didn't have warm water in Twelve, because our district was the poorest. I got into the icy water and scrubbed the grim off my skin.

When I was finished bathing, I saw the dress my mother laid out for me. "Oh," I sighed. It was a beautiful blue dress from my mother's Merchant days. I slipped it on and went outside. My mother smiled at me.

"You look beautiful," she said. She smiled and came to braid my hair.

"And completely unlike myself," I replied.

"I'm sure Peeta would disagree." She saw my blush and chuckled. "Come on. We best be going."

When we arrived n the square, it was packed. I kissed Prim's forehead, and told her that I loved her, and went to the marked off section for the sixteen year olds.

Peeta saw me and gave me a rueful smile. "You're beautiful," he said. I groaned and laughed quietly. He raised an eyebrow but was cut off by the mayor before he could question me.

"Citizens of District 12, today we are gathered to celebrate..." I droned out the rest of the speech. I clutched Peeta's hand when district Twelve's escort, Effie Trinket, paraded on stage.

"Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be _ever_ in your favor!" She beamed and continued, "Ladies First!"

_Don't be me, don't be me, don't be me, _I prayed.

It wasn't me.

"Primrose Everdeen!"


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: So guys! Chapter 2 is up! I hope you liked the first chapter, I worked really hard on it! (I know Katniss is a little OOC, but she's supposed to be like that!)

Chapter 2

"Primrose Everdeen!"

Prim? Prim! Not Prim! Anyone but her!

I was acutely aware of someone murmuring my name in my ear and hands on my arms. Had I fallen? Prim, oh God, Prim!

Before I knew what i was doing, I raced out to her. "Prim! No! Prim! I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!"

I shoved her behind me. She wrapped her tiny arms around me. She was screaming. "Katniss, no you can't go!"

I felt my heart break in half. "Prim. Let go!"

But she refused. "No!"

I heard another voice, Peeta. "Come on, Prim. Let's get you back to your mother." I looked at him, and felt my heart break again. His eyes, his beautiful blue eyes, were full of pain and grief. He pulled Prim off of me, and before he turned, we locked eyes. I could see everything etched on his face. He was telling me to go on.

I walked numbly up on the stage. Effie looked slightly confused, but Haymitch Abernathy, the only living victor from District 12, stumbled over to me. "I like her!" His breath reeked of alcohol. "She's got spunk! More than you!" He was pointing to the camera, but before he could say anything else, he stumbled off the stage and knocked himself out.

Effie, looking disgusted, walked over to me. "And what is your name?" she asked, in her silly high pitched voice. She pulled me over to the center of the stage.

"Katniss Everdeen," I said, and even I was surprised at how steady my voice was.

"Well, Katniss Everdeen, way to go on showing district pride!" She beamed. "Gentlemen!"

I scanned the crowd. Peeta was with Prim and my mother, trying to calm Prim down because she was in hysterics. I had to looked away. Could I really cause someone that much pain?

Effie was fishing around in the glass ball that had all of the boys' names in it. She finally settled on one and she called out in a loud clear voice, "Peeta Mellark!"

Everything was spinning. Prim's screams stopped. Then they got louder. "NO! No! You can't go! Katniss! Peeta! NO!"

Traitor tears escaped as I watched people move out of Peeta's way as he stiffly walked up the stairs to the stage. He got to where I was standing, and I couldn't take it any longer. I plunged into his arms and openly sobbed. He buried his face in my hair and he was crying, too.

Effie made a noise of discontent and I pulled myself away from Peeta. "I give you the tributes from district Twelve, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark!" Effie was still beaming. How can somone be so happy when they just witnessed people's lives falling apart?

The Peacekeepers whisked us off the stage and into the Justice Building. A new terror washed through me. The last time I had stepped in this crumbling building was when my father died. I swallowed the new lump in my throat.

They led me down the hall and into a clean room. I slumped onto soft red couch. I took deep breaths and tried to calm myself down. In one day I passed my crying limit for five years. If this is the last time that I would ever get to see my mother or Prim, then I definately don't want them to see me like this.

The door swung open and Prim flew into my arms. "Oh, Katniss!" she sobbed, I squeezed my eyes shut and petted her hair.

My mother had sat down next to me and wrapped her arms around both of us. "It's okay, Prim. I'll be fine," I lied. Even if I did come back, I'd lose the love of my life. I'd be scarred forever. There is no "fine" anymore.

"Promise me you will come back! Please try to win! Please!" Prim stopped sobbing, she was now just crying quietly.

"I will. I promise." I repeated the words to her over and over again, trying to get myself to believe them. It wasn't working. I turned to my mother. "You can't leave her. Not like you did before."

"I know. I won't. I was-"

"I know. But-" I was cut off when the Peacekeepers came to retrieve my mother and Prim. "I love you! I love you both! Don't forget!" I yelled after them as they left. I leaned my head back on the couch. I didn't even hear the door creak open.

"Oh, Katniss. What am I going to do without you two?"

"Gale," I groaned. "What am I supposed to do?"

He came and sat next to me. "Well, you're supposed to try your hardest to keep both of you alive," he smiled weakly. "What am I going to do without my best friend to scare all the game away? Or my other best friend that shoots the game before it actually does?"

He was trying to lighten the mood, and he could tell it wasn't working. I glared at him. He sighed and put his arm around my shoulder. "Katniss, if anyone could make it out of those games, it would be you. You know so much about survival-and I bet killing a person wouldn't be much-"

"Gale, I don't want to make it out of the Games without Peeta. I wouldn't be me anymore. I would have nothing."

His face hardened. "You would have me. And Prim."

"Yes, I would have you two, but it's not the same. You have to understand that." Why couldn't he see that?

"That's not what I was saying, Katniss. It could be the same. I would take care of you. I would understand everything. I would... I would love you."

I can't deal with this. Not now, not ever. Gale was just my best friend. And Peeta's, for that matter. We've been best friends since I was twelve, and I was in love with Peeta for half of those four years.

I sighed. "Gale, this is too much for me. Today I was told that I'm going to die-" and so is Peeta-"I'm sorry, but-"

He got up from the couch. "I know. You're not in love with me that way. But could you at least try if you make it back?" At this point he was standing in the doorway, waiting for his final answer.

I gave him a weak smile. "Don't let them starve."

He took a deep breath. "I won't. Goodbye, Katniss," he said and pulled the door open and disappeared down the hallway.

My next visitor was Madge. She's the mayor's daughter, and Peeta and I usually sit with her at lunch. She's quiet and she doesn't gossip. In my book, that stands for the perfect friend.

Before she left, she gave me a golden pin with a bird on it. She made me promise that I would wear it as my district's token. I put it on my dress and told her I would.

My last visitor was unexpected. It was Peeta's father. He gave me cookies, and we made small talk. When he was leaving he turned to me and said in a sad voice, "I know you can make it back."

Was he telling me that I could kill his son? I didn't have time to dwell on that thought because the Peacekeepers came to escort me to the train. We rode in a car (I think that's what it's called, I've only seen them on television). There were two other cars, one for Peeta and one for Haymitch and Effie.

We were loaded on to the train before the reporters could start asking us questions. When they showed me to my room, I changed out of my dress and sat on the soft bed. I had just put my head in my hands when someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," I croaked.

Peeta opened the door and stepped in. He came and sat on the bed beside me and put his arm around my shoulder. "Can you believe it was only just this morning that we were in the woods with Gale?"

"No, actually, I can't. Your father came to visit me."

"He did?"

"Yes, it was a little awkward," I chuckled.

"Well, he likes you and Prim. Who else came to see you?"

"Prim, my mother, Madge, and Gale."

His eyebrows furrowed together. "Gale didn't come to see me. What did he say to you?"

"He told me that he wouldn't let them starve," I looked away, I didn't want to tell him anymore.

"Katniss," Peeta said in a stern voice. "You're hiding something from me."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"Am not."

"Are too."

I huffed. "Fine, he told me that he loved me. But I told him that I loved you, and that he couldn't changed that. So there! You found out what I was hiding. Can you see why I didn't want to tell you?"

He gave me a breathtaking smile. "I don't blame him at all."

I was confused. "About what?"

"Being in love with you. You are the most beautiful woman in the world. You're strong, you're brave, and I can't believe an ordinary guy like me would be lucky enough to have you."

He was going to make me cry again if he kept talking, so I did the first thing I could think of. I smashed my lips on his, twisting around so I could get a better hold on him. He twisted his fingers in my hair and I was pushing him down on the bed when someone knocked on the door.

"Dinner time! Don't be late!" It was Effie. I scrambled off of Peeta, trying to catch my breath.

He laughed, "Come on, we should go eat."

I nodded quickly and ran out of the room, embarassed.

A/N: This chapter was pretty bad, I know.

I wanted to say thank you to everyone who reviewed! Every single one of you made my day!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Chapter 3! Has anyone seen breaking dawn yet? I'm going to see it in an hour! yay! (To all you Peeta lovers/Gale haters!: don't worry. Gale will NOT come in the way of Katniss and Peeta!

**Me: PEETA!**

**Peeta: Hey. So have you heard?**

**Me: Heard what?**

**Peeta: You're not Suzanne Collins. You don't own the Hunger Games.**

**Me:NOOO!**

Chapter 3

Peeta

I scrambled off the bed after her. I walked to the dining room, the only one there was Katniss. Effie and Haymitch were nowhere to be seen.

I walked up behind her and slid my arms around her waist. I sat my chin on the top of her head. I was perfectly content with staying like that forever, but Effie stormed into the room, making us both jump.

"I don't know _how_ you are going to be able to trust that man with your lives," she fumed. "He is absolutely irresponsible and needs to learn some manners!" She angrily pulled out a chair and huffed. I only began to assume that she was talking about Haymitch when he staggered in.

"I miss dinner?" He slurred, then vomited and quickly collapsed on top of the mess. Yep, definately Haymitch.

I exchanged a look with Katniss, who I see is fighting the urge to burst out laughing. Effie saw her and said, "You think this is funny, do you?" Before she could get and answer, she exhaled in frustration and called for servants from the Capitol to clean up the mess.

Twenty minutes later, we were sitting at the table, digging into the rich Capitol food. Effie attempted to make small talk, but she wanted to wait to discuss everything for Haymitch. She kept hesitating before speaking, but finally she asked, "So, I assume you two have met before?"

Katniss blushed and I jumped in. "Yes, we met when we were twelve."

"Lovely!" She gushed. "Are you together? You seem very... comfortable around each other."

Katniss gave her a forced smile. "Yes, we started dating when we were fourteen. Before then we were just best friends," she looked over at me.

"And Katniss doesn't even know the whole story," I added, and she raised her eyebrows.

"Well, we should go watch reruns of the reapings," Effie said, standing up. "Come on."

We followed her to the television, and sat down on the couch. I pulled Katniss down next to me and took her hand. She glanced down at it, and then looked up to me and smiled. "We'll be okay" I mouthed, and she nodded, turning to the screen.

I didn't really pay attention to the reapings, just noting if one person is big and strong, or if another won't be a problem getting out of the way for Katniss. But when we got to District Eleven, Katniss stiffened. On screen, there was a little girl with dark skin that looked frightened. She was about the same size as Prim.

I took a deep breath when we got to District Twelve. It broke my heart to see Prim's name called, and then to see Katniss volunteer. On screen, I pulled Prim off of Katniss and took her to her mother. The screen was back on Katniss, who was looking off into the crowd.

Then Effie called my name, and Katniss's eyes widened in shock. Prim got louder and Katniss started crying as I climbed the stage. Once I reached the center, I was almost immediately embracing Katniss and crying with her.

Effie shut off the tv. "I think it's getting late, and you have a big, big, big day tomorrow!"

Still holding hands, we walked down the hallway to our rooms. We reached hers first. "Peeta, do you think this will work out for us?"

No. But I wasn't just come out and say _that_. "Of course. We can get through anything," I said instead and leaned my forehead against hers. I closed my eyes for a minute, wanting to be with her forever, but with our current fate, I knew that wasn't possible. "I love you," I whispered, and kissed her forehead and walked down the hall to my room. When I turned around to look at her door, she was still standing there, with what looked like tears on her face.

Before I could say anything, she turned and went in her room. I sighed and dragged myself over to the bed and forced myself to sleep.

_I walked through a forest, fear and adrenaline pumping through my veins. I reached a clearing, and in the middle of it, was Katniss. I sighed in relief and ran as fast as I coud towards her. She heard me and turned around. "Peeta!" She said, grinning broadly._

_Just then, someone stepped out of the woods on the other side of the clearing. I think it was the boy from Two, one of the big ones. He raised his spear and I stopped, my eyes widening. "Katniss, look out!"_

_"What?" she said, and the boy threw the spear. It pierced her stomach. "Oh," she said, and slumped to the ground._

_"Katniss! Katniss! No!" I screamed and flew to her side. "No, Katniss, you can't leave me! Please! No!"_

_I knelt over her and sobbed. I pulled the hair out of her face and she opened her eyes slightly. "Peeta," she whispered, and her head fell to the side._

My eyes shot open. I scanned the room, still trying to tell myself it was just a dream. I pulled the covers off of my body and walked over to the door.

The hallway was dark, but I could still make out Katniss's door. I sped over and slumped onto the ground, leaning against the door. I could hear her breathing, light and faint.

I knew that if she ever died, I would die too.

A/N: Ehh. I didn't know where to end this.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: So the last chapter was a little short, I couldn't really think of anything else to put in it. Btw, I'm not Suzanne Collins!

Chapter 4

I woke up, keeping my eyes closed. Wow, that was one of the worst dreams I've ever had! I'm glad the reaping is over, though. I don't remember who was picked, which is strange.

I reached across the soft bed for Prim. Instead I found nothing. Wait-soft bed? No Prim? Oh no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I peeled my eyes open and groaned. It wasn't a dream.

I rolled out of bed and re-braided my hair. I sat in the bathroom looking at my face in the mirror for ten minutes. So much has changed in twenty four hours, and yet, I still look the same.

My stomach growled. I trudged over to the door and swung it over. Peeta, who was leaning up against the door, fell backwards and jolted awake. "I'm awake," he muttered.

"Peeta?"

He seemed to snap back into reality. "Katniss? What am I-" he blushed. "Oh." He jumped off the floor. "Sorry."

"Peeta, what were you doing?" I asked, confused.

"Um, nothing. Just had to make sure you will still here," he said. Just when I was about to ask why, Effie came down the hall.

She stopped when she saw us and smiled. "Oh, good! You two are already awake! Be down in the dining room for breakfast!" She said, and picked up her pace down the hall.

"Okay, well, I guess we should go eat then," I said.

Peeta chuckled. "We always get interrupted by food, don't we?"

I rolled my eyes at him, blushing from comment about last night. "Come on. I bet Haymitch will want to talk to us."

When we got to the dining room, Haymitch and Effie were already seated. Haymitch was mixing a clear liquid into some fruit juice, which I'm guessing is alcohol. When we sit down, Haymitch starts talking.

"So, everyone has been talking about you two." Peeta and I exchanged a glance.

"Really? Why?" Peeta asked.

"Well, everyone is saying that you are the star-crossed lovers of District Twelve. You are, aren't you?" he asked, taking a sip of his drink.

"Um, I guess you could call us that, but that really isn't anyone's business besides our own," I replied, upset.

"I think that you can play up that angle, and get more sponsers. Have a better chance of surviving while you're in the Games," he said, taking a bite off of his muffin. "I think it will work."

Peeta looked slightly angry. "Is that the only piece of advice that you're going to give us?"

Haymitch laughed. "You want advice? Stay alive."

He continued laughing. Peeta chuckled, only it was strained. I looked back and forth between the two. "That's very funny," Peeta said. Then he slapped the alcohol from Haymitch's hand and it crashed to the floor, breaking to pieces. The liquid oozed everywhere, staining the floor. "Only not to us."

Haymitch looked shocked for a minute, and he sat in his seat, contemplating. Then he shot up in the air and crashed his fist to Peeta's face. Wanting to join in on the "fun," I grabbed a knife and hit the table, nearly chopping off Haymitch's finger.

He sat back in his chair, staring at us. Peeta reached for some ice from around the ice bowl and held it to his cheek. Haymitch looked at the knife, which was still stuck in the table. "So, did I actually get a pair of fighters this year?" He looked over to me. "How good are you with a knife, sweetheart?"

Anger bubbled inside of me. No one has called me that since my father died. I picked up the knife and chucked it against the wall. It hit in between the panels, making me look better than I really did. "If you can call that good."

"Fiesty one, I see." His eyes slid over to Peeta. "Can you do anything besides knocking a glass over?"

Peeta opened his mouth to respond, but I beat him to it. "Oh, please," I scoffed. "He got second place in wrestling for our school, just behind his brother. If he got his hands on a knife, he could take down all of the Careers."

Everyone's eyes were on me. Then Peeta decided he was going to be modest. "Well, maybe one person, if I were jumped. But it's Katniss that can do everything. She can shoot, and she can gather plants. If anyone is going to win the Hunger Games, it would be her."

"Yes, I can do that stuff, but if I get jumped, I'm dead!"

"No, you'll probably be up in a tree somewhere, living off of raw squirrel, picking people off one by one! The Games will be finished before the day is over!"

"You don't know that there will be trees."

He threw his hands up in the air. "Really, Katniss? You're going to make me say it? When my parents were saying goodbye, my mother said that Distrct Twelve was finally going to have a winner this year! And she meant you!"

"Of course she didn't. She meant you."

"No, she said, 'She's a survivor, that one.' _She_ is. She has absolutely no hope that her son will come back."

I had no response to that. That's when I realized that this is the first fight we've had in a while. The last fight we had was last year, in February. Our History teacher had just taught us about an old holiday called Valentine's Day.

_I waited in the meadow. Where is he? Peeta should be here by now. _

_I paced back and forth under the tree. He better get here soon, because I'm not going to freeze to death for nothi-_

_"Katniss!"_

_I turned to see Peeta jogging towards me. When he coaught up to me, his breathing was ragged and coming out in white clouds around him. His blue eyes shone, giving color to the gray snow on the ground around us. He stood there, eyes searching my features, face full of wonder._

_"What?" I barked, embaressed._

_He snapped out of it. "I'm sorry, it's just that-you're so beautiful," he said._

_My heart warmed, and so did my cheeks. "Oh, I-I'm sorry. That was rude of me."_

_Then he leaned in and kissed me. My stomach flipped. We have only kissed a couple of couple of times, and I never get used to this feeling deep inside my chest._

_He slid his hand around my waist to my back. He left a trail of fire behind it. I noticed that his hand was balled up in a fist._

_When I felt like my head was about to explode, I pulled away for air. "Wow, that was-" I paused, searching for the right word._

_"Amazing," he finished. I smiled._

_"Yeah," I breathed. "Amazing."_

_His smile grew. "I got you something," he pulled a small box out of the brown paper bag he was carrying. He handed it to me. "Open it."_

_I looked up at him, and then down at the box. I pulled it open, and there were little brown squares of chocolate._

_"It's just chocolate, I didn't have time to get you anything else. I didn't want to be too late," he noticed the look on my face. "What do you think?"_

_"Peeta," I said, my voice small. "How much did this cost?"_

_"What?"_

_I looked up at him, getting angry. "How much did it cost?"_

_"Katniss-"_

_"Don't 'Katniss' me! I told you not to spend money on me. I can't repay you! It's too much!"_

_"I didn't mean to hurt you, it's just that that's what they said boys gave to girls when they loved them. I didn't mean to hurt your pride. I'm sorry." With that, he turned and walked away._

_"Peeta-"_

_"Don't, Katniss."_

_I stood there, watching until his figure disappeared. I looked down at the little box. Tears pricked my eyes. What had I done? _

_The next morning at school, I expected him to come to me. To at least say hello in the hallway. Do something to prove that he forgives me. _

_In History was when I thought he was going to do it. I waited by his desk. We still had three minutes before the bell rang when he came in. I thought he was going to talk to me. I opened my mouth to speak when he sat his stuff down. But he ignored me like he didn't see me. He just walked over to one of his friends desks._

_Rejection flooded my body. Numbly, I turned and walked to my seat. After I sat down, I glanced back at him. Two of his friends were looking at me with strange expressions. Another one was looking at him with a raised eyebrow. His best friend, Rye, was asking him what happened. But Peeta didn't respond. He just stood, with his head down, staring at a desk._

_All through class I kept glancing over at him. I never caught him even looking at my side of the room. He kept his head low, furiously scribbling down notes on a piece of paper._

_At lunch he sat with his friends. Not me and Madge. _

_"Why is he over there?" She asked, looking over at him. Then she looked at me, eyes wide. "Did you two break up?" She gasped._

_I squeaked. Was that what happened? Did he break up with me? "I don't know," I muttered. I gazed longingly at him. Come on, Peeta, don't break my heart. Please._

_He looked over to me. My heart jumped to my throat. He held my gaze for a moment, then pressed his lips into a thin line and pretended to smile at something his friend said. My mouth dropped open slightly. It _was _over. He would never smile because of some silly thing I did, or kiss me with his soft lips. And I would never get to tell him that I loved him._

_I managed a weak "excuse me" without bursting into tears. I bolted out of my chair and ran across the cafeteria to the bathroom. I could feel everyone's eyes on me, but the one's that really burned through my soul were his._

_I entered a stall and choked back a sob. Peeta Mellark broke my shell. He made me do what I swore I would never do. I swore I would never fall in love. I would never be one of the girls who dreamed about their toasting, or what their kids would be like. But now every little beginning of a fantasy came and finished itself. _

_Sitting by the fireplace, now all alone, with two halves of a loaf of bread sitting in front of me. Why did he leave me? Why didn't he love me? _

_Holding my small child in my arms, with his blond hair and my gray eyes. Where is Peeta?_

_A million more daydreams came and ended badly. It made tears pour down my face._

_When I finally pulled myself together enough to leave the bathroom, lunch was over. I quickly went to my teacher and told her I wasn't feeling well. She believed me, because I probably looked like hell and I'm not much of a complainer._

_When I got home, I told my mother that I felt terrible. And I did. But it wasn't anything she could cure. But I didn't tell her that. When she asked about Prim, I didn't know what to do. But eventually she made me got to bed and lie down. Unfortunately, for me, the box of chocolates were on my nightstand beside the bed. _

_I picked them up and whipped them across the room. Then I got up and picked them back up. I realized that it might be the last piece of Peeta that I would ever have. I fell asleep cradling the tiny box beside my face._

_A couple of hours later, I woke up and Prim was brushing my hair around her face, looking sad. Gale was standing in the doorway. "Can you please leave me alone? I don't feel very well."_

_They left. I was alone. Again._

_I stayed home from school for the next three days. When my mother asked me if I could go into town to get some antibiotics because she was running low, I obeyed without thinking. _

_Trudging through the snow, I reached the town. I walked along, staring at my feet. Someone bumped into me. "Oh I'm sor-"_

_"I didn't-"_

_It was Peeta._

_"Oh, Katniss. I, uh, haven't seen you at school."_

_"Yeah. I've had a rough week."_

_"I'm sorry."_

_I looked up at him, tears threatening to spill again. "For what?"_

_"For everything. I didn't mean anything I didn't mean anything I did. At all. I was such a jerk," he said._

_"Are you talking about the break up?" I asked. A lone tear had escaped._

_HIs own eyes were tearing up. "You thought that was a break up?" His voice cracked on the last word._

_"Wasn't it?" My voice was hushed, trying to conceal emotion._

_"No, I wouldn't leave you for the world, Katniss. I was just mad that you got mad that I did something for you. When you're with me, time stops. All that I can see is you. You are the only reason that I live, that I breath. I love you." The last three words were quieter, he said them slower._

_I took a step forward and wrapped my arms around him. He did the same. After about a minute or so, I whispered, "I love you, too."_

I snapped out of my flashback. I was still staring at Peeta.

"The only reason I survived is because someone helped me."

And with that, I walked out of the room.

A/N: So that's Chapter Four. It was super long (yawn), and I got knida carried away. I meant for the memory about the fight to be a lot shorter, but I'm going to blame Taylor Swift. I just started liking some of her songs, and I listened to "Long Live" for up until the fight part, then I switched to "Untouchable". I think that's why I made it sad. Seriously though, great songs.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Ok, so this is Chapter Five! What do you guys think, should I do more chapters in Peeta's POV? Chapter Three was kind of an experiment... Ooh! Wait! I found out today that I didn't own the Hunger Games. I cried.

Chapter Five

I sat on the edge of the bed. The fight was ridiculous, I can't even believe that we _did_ fight. But, being the stubborn person that I am, I'm not going to be the first person to apologize.

The day passed by slowly. I skipped lunch, I just wasn't in the mood to see Peeta yet.

At around six, someone knocked on my door. "Katniss! Be out here soon, we are getting ready to arrive in the Capitol!"

I groaned quietly. I didn't ever want to be in the freakshow that was the Capitol. Much less be a part of it.

I got up off of my bed and pulled the door open. Effie stood there, looking relieved. "Finally, I thought you had killed yourself!" But then she laughed. "_That_ would be bad, wouldn't it?" I pretended to find it funny too, mumbling that it would. Then she speed-walked down the hallway of the train.

I went to the little television compartment, only to find... "Peeta."

He looked up at me from the couch. "Oh, hey Katniss."

Was that how it was going to be? _I _had to apologize for defending _him?_ I went and sat across the room, pretending to be interested in whatever he was watching. It was an overcast of the Games, the people placing their bets on who they thought was going to win.

"... but the boy from Eleven, Thresh, did look menacing enough. I wouldn't count him out," one interviewer said.

"Yes, I think it will be down to him and Cato from two."

"What about Peeta Mellark, from District Twelve?" The third person asked. "He looked pretty heavily built."

I stiffened. I stole a glance at Peeta, who was tense as well. I saw him take a peek at me through the corner of his eye. When we caught each other staring, our eyes darted back to the tv.

"If what everyone is saying is true, then he has two lives to defend instead of one. My bet is that even if he did win, he would be heartbroken," it was the first person who replied.

Then at the same time,

"Katniss-"

"Peeta-"

"There you two are!" I had to restrain myself from getting up and strangling Effie. "We are two minutes from the Capitol!"

"Alright, we'll be on our way." He stood up from the couch. When he got to the door, he turned around. "You coming?"

I looked at him for a second, trying to figure out why he was waiting for me. "Yeah, um, I'll be right there."

He stood there for a minute, a conflicted look on his face. Then he left.

I sighed. I knew we only had days to live, didn't he see it too?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I stepped off of the train, immediately blinded by the flashes of cameras.

"Katniss! Peeta! Over here!"

"Peeta!"

"Katniss!"

"Right here!"

"Katniss!"

"Peeta!"

Instinctively, I grabbed on to Peeta's arm. He wrapped it around me as we were lead to the building. Once we got inside, we seemed to remember we were in a fight and took a step away from eachother.

I was lead to a room with three people in it. A woman with green skin stepped forward. "Hello! I'm Octavia, this-" she pointed to a man with orange corkscrew curls and purple lipstick, "-is Flavius." She pointed to a woman. "And this is Venia! We're your prep team!"

They took me to a bathroom where they stripped every single hair from my body. "Don't worry," Venia said. "It stops hurting after a while," and she proceeded to pull another strip of hair off of my leg.

They had to fix me up perfect for my stylist. When they were finally done, they wrapped me up in a robe and left. I stood in the room while I waited for my stylist to enter. I was about to sit down when he came in.

"Hello, I'm Cinna." I was utterly shocked. He looked, well, _normal_. The only thing that I saw that reminded me of the Capitol was a layer of gold eyeliner. But it actually looked good. It brought out little gold flecks in his eyes.

"I'm Katniss."

He chuckled. "I know. Could you-" he gestured to my robe.

"Oh. Yes," I blushed and slipped out of the robe.

He walked in a circle around me. I felt the urge to cover my chest with my arms, but resisted. He nodded to himself. "You can put the robe back on now." I obeyed. "Would you like something to eat? I'm sure you're starving."

In response, my stomach rumbled. We laughed and he ordered food. It appeared instantly on the table. I felt a sudden rush of hatred towards the Capitol. Back in the districts, children were starving to death. Here, you can make food appear with the press of a button! They haven't even considered that someone else might need the extra food?

I didn't have time to finish fuming, because the heavenly smell of the warm stew reached my nostrils. My mouth watered, and it took everything I had not to inhale the whole thing right then and there. I put the first bite in my mouth and and almost moaned. It was a lamb stew with dried plums.

After we finished eating, Cinna said, "So, Katniss."

"Hmm?"

"How do you feel about fire?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Fifteen minutes later, I was standing in what might either be the death of me or what might be the greatest success the Hunger Games have ever seen.

I looked down at my black unitard. I had a cape running down my back, which Cinna was going to set on fire. He set a headress on my head and took a step back.

"Don't worry," he said, seeing the look on my face. "It's artificial fire, it won't hurt you."

He dusted my face lightly with makeup, I was barely wearing any at all. When he was finished, I took a deep breath.

"Katniss, can I ask you something?"

I looked up at him. "Of course."

"Is it true? All of the rumors about you and Peeta?"

My heart gave a little stutter at his name. "Yes," I whispered.

"I'm sorry."

"It's... the worst thing that's ever happened in my life. Right now, we aren't even speaking, but we both know that we only have days left. I love him more than anything, I always have. I don't know what he's going to do, but I know my top priority is to keep him alive," I startled myself. I just admitted my greatest fear to a stranger-almost.

He glanced at the clock. "We have to leave now," he said. I nodded and headed towards the exit. He held the door for me, and then put a hand on my shoulder before I could walk out. "Katniss, what you're doing is extremely brave. I can honestly say I have never met anyone as self-sacrificing as you."

I wasn't sure if the last part was a compliment, but I smiled and said "thank you."

We walked down the hallway to the elevators. When we arrived, everyone was already there. Haymitch, Effie, Peeta and-

"I'm Portia. It's a pleasure to meet you, Katniss."

"It's nice to meet you, too."

We rode down the elevators and got in the chariots. They put me next to Peeta, and all I wanted to do was just wrap my arms around him and bury my face in his chest. But I have to wait. Then, surprisingly, he talked to me. "If you rip mine off, I'll rip off yours," he said, under his breath.

"Deal."

He looked surprised, surprised that I had answered him.

We got in line behind the rest of the districts, and we waited as they slowly rode along.

District One.

District Two.

District Three.

District Four.

District Five.

District Six.

District Seven.

District Eight.

District Nine.

District Ten.

When it came to District Eleven's turn, we stood up and got into place. Cinna lit us on fire. We watched as Rue, the little girl, and Thresh, rode around the circle.

Then our chariot started rolling. I looked back at Cinna. He was trying to say something, but I couldn't understand it.

"What is he saying?"

"I think he's saying to hold hands."

I looked over at Peeta. His blue eyes were bright against the fire, and it made my heart melt.

"Ok," I whispered, and snatched his hand before he could protest. Both of our gazes went down to our entwined hands. A million tiny sparks jolted through me, all centered around his touch. It was the greatest thing I've felt all day.

Then there was the roar of applause. If I thought it was bad when we got off the train, then I honestly know nothing at all. People chanted our names, threw flowers, and screamed for District Twelve. I blew kisses, and they went wilder. I caught a glimpse of us on the big screens, and we looked fantastic. Cinna was right about not wearing much makeup.

I was smiling broadly, looking beautiful as I was consumed by the fire. My breath caught in my throat. Peeta looked even more breathtaking on camera than in person. You could just see his honey colored blond curls poking out from under the head dress. His sky blue eyes were bright and bold. Together, we looked amazing. Like a team. In love.

Peeta noticed that I was failing to breath, and leaned down to whisper in my ear. "You okay?"

I nodded at him, and then listened as President Snow gave his speech. I noticed that all of the other tributes were staring at us, with lethal looks. I gulped. I couldn't even imagine how they were planning to kill me.

Afterwards, we rode back to the Training Center. I piled on to the elevator, with Peeta by my side.

"You should wear fire more often. It suits you."

I could tell he was teasing me. "Does this mean that you're-"

The elevator door opened to the twelfth floor. I sighed, getting interrupted as usual.

"Katniss! Peeta! You did great! Go change, and come out for dinner," Effie said, giddy.

I went to my room and took a quick shower. When I got out, I felt exhausted. I had a huge day.

I pulled on a pair of simple pants and a black shirt and left to go to the dining area. Everyone was already there, and they showered me with praise.

For dessert, they brought out a big cake and lit it on fire. "Oh! Is that spirits that make it burn?" I looked over to the server. "I know you!"

She looked at me with wide eyes. She shook her head and quickly walked away. I looked around the table. Everyone was staring at me with shocked expressions, except for Peeta. He knew exactly what I was talking about. He was wide-eyed with fear, unblinking.

"That's absurd, Katniss. Avoxes are people who have commited great crimes. It's highly unlikely that you've met her before," Effie snapped.

"Oh, She just looks familiar..." my voice trailed off.

"Delly Cartwright."

Now everyone looked over at Peeta. He seemed to have snapped out of his trance. "She's a dead ringer for Delly. Must be the eyes."

"Something about the hair, too," I added.

We ate dessert in silence.

Peeta and I walked down the hall way together, since we had consecutive rooms. Mine was first. He kept on going, but I grabbed his arm and pulled it to a stop.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"I'm sorry, too. I guess I just didn't want you to underestimate yourself." He laughed quietly. "I guess I just love you that much."

I smiled. "I love you, too."

He kissed my forehead and started to pull away.

"Wait, don't go. Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?" I asked, probably hoping too much.

"Of course," he responded with a smile, and followed me in to my room.

I climbed in the bed and pulled him in with me. He gave me a long kiss, sending a warm feeling all the way to my toes. I put my head on his chest.

"Goodnight, Katniss," I heard him whisper before I fell asleep, safe in his arms.

A/N: Hmmmmmm... Thank You to everyone who reviewed! And I just wanted to say that I'm thinking about starting another fanfic! Tell me in the reviews if it should be The Hunger Games, Maximum Ride, or The Host! And I'm going to be a butthole and say that I'm not putting up chapter Six until I get 40 reviews 0_o

Bye!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Chapter Six is here! Haha I got my reviews, but i don't think I'll do that again :) I have a mission for you guys: if you have read a great book recently (science fiction is the stuff I normally read, check out the books on my profile.) then you should tell me what it is! I don't have any new books to read... :(

Chapter Six

_My back was pressed up against the tree, and I could feel the bark scraping through the fabric of my shirt. But I couldn't feel it. All I could feel was Peeta._

_His right hand was knotted in my hair, pulling me closer to him. His left hand was on my hip._

_He kissed me and I kissed back just as passionately. When his tongue grazed my bottom lip, I giggled. I opened my mouth and let my tongue dance around with his._

_I slipped my left hand under his shirt to feel his abs. He pulled away to take a breath. His eyes screamed everything that he didn't have words to say. He kissed me again, lighter this time, but still full of passion._

_I bit his bottom lip slightly, and he moaned. I was deeply satisfied that I could get that kind of a reaction out of him._

_We kissed for a few more minutes, and then the birds fell silent. We both pulled back slightly, and looked around._

_"Get down!" I said in a hushed whisper._

_We dropped down to the ground, concealed by a couple of bushes. I peeked around them and saw a girl with red hair wearing tattered clothes and a boy with brown hair. They were running, no, sprinting, from something I couldn't see. _

_The girl kept glancing at the sky, and she tripped. That's when I heard it. The hovercraft. _

_It shot a spear down through the boys stomach. A net dropped down on the girl. She screamed a loud, bloodcurdling scream._

I shot straight up in the bed.

"Katniss? Are you okay?"

My eyes widened and I immediately blushed. Peeta was here.

I turned back at him. When he saw my expression, his twisted into worry. "What's wrong?"

I didn't want to cry. "We could've saved them. The boy is dead, and the girl..." my voice trailed off.

"I know. I know. And now we have to deal with the fact that we helped ruin their lives. But think about it, if we helped them, we would be in the same spot they were in."

He leaned forward and wrapped his strong arms around me. I know that it was supposed to be saying 'we're here now, there's nothing we can do about it,' but I immediately filled with bliss.

I put my forehead against his. How is it that he can make the bad moments feel good?

"We'll be okay," he murmured. I leaned in and kissed him. While every kiss that we have ever had is special, this one was different. Like something clicked. I felt an overwhelming surge of sadness coarse through me. I held onto Peeta like it might be the last time I would ever be with him.

His breath was hot against my lips, and he tasted like cinnamon. I stradled his lap, pulling back slightly and to ask with my eyes if it was okay. When I saw him, his eyes were filling with tears. He pulled me back against his lips.

The door burst open.

"I told you, Katniss, to be down in the dining room thirty minutes ago! Why haven't you-" She finally saw me, in my risky position on top of Peeta, and her eyes widened. "I, umm, I..." She backed out of the room and shut the door.

I looked back at Peeta. "She came thirty minutes ago?"

He shook his head. "I didn't hear her."

I stared into his eyes, trying to capture every little piece of him before I lost him. I whispered, "Why were you crying?"

He had a pained expression now. "I... It's like I just realized that we were going to lose each other forever. Like it finally set in. All the pain I had felt about losing you before was never as..." He paused, looking for a word. "Impossible as it is now." He hugged me to him and buried his face in my neck. I wrapped my arms tightly around him. Unmoving, he took a deep breath. "Katniss, promise me one thing."

"Anything," I breathed.

"Promise me, that no matter what happens, that you won't put your life in front of mine. Let me protect you for once. Let me take care of you. Promise me that, if we are the last two standing, you'll let me die."

I jerked back from him. "What?"

He looked startled. "Don't kill yourself for me."

"Then you aren't allowed to kill yourself for me!"

He went from being shocked to sad. "I'd do anything for you, Katniss. Don't make me watch you die because of me. I could _never _do that. I'd lose my sanity even seeing you get hurt. Remember last year, when you fell out of the tree?"

I smiled at the painful memory. I fell out of a tree and Peeta was more upset than I was, and I was the one who broke their toe. He made a huge deal about how he told me not to go too far up in the tree but that I didn't listen.

It was just my toe! The entire time Gale and I were trying not to laugh in his face at how overly protective he was being.

That's when I realized that he _would _go insane if I died. The thought made my chests rack with sobs. The choking sound that I made whenever I weeped like a little baby worked it's way out of my mouth.

"No, Katniss, please don't cry!" His voice had an edge of desperation in it. "Don't cry, baby, don't cry, I just wanted you to see what it would be like, living without you."

I looked up into his eyes. They were completely sincere. It made me want to cry even more, but I dried my tears. _I _would do anything for _him,_ even if he wants me to watch him die.

I shuddered. "Can we go get breakfast now?"

He rubbed my back. "Of course."

Turns out we weren't the only ones who were late. We ran into Haymitch on our way to the dining room.

He wasn't drunk, but it seemed like he had a hangover. Was he serious when he said that he would sober up?

We got to the table and sat down. I sniffled, and Peeta put his hand on my leg and squeezed lightly. I was too embaressed to look at Effie, but when Haymitch saw my expression, and said "gee, who died?" I exploded.

"Who died? Who DIED! The more appropriate question would have been 'who's getting dressed up so they can watch innocent children die?' Well, the answer is us! Can you not be responsible for _one second,_ to see that twenty four children are being sent to fight to the death for entertainment? Can you not see that the friends and families of the children are going to be scarred for life? What about the person who wins the Games? They will never be the same again! I mean, look at you, you're a drunk!" I said, and instantly regretted the last part.

He looked angry,_ very_ angry. I recoiled, but kept my place standing up. He stood up from across the table and starting talking fast. "I have watched children die every year for forty years! For twenty five of those years, I got to know and love those kids! I watch them get murdered on live television! I tried to help them in the beginning, I really did, but it's too much! You try watching them die. What if you weren't there to volunteer for your sister? What if you were too old to volunteer? What if you had to watch her die, twice a year, in a different way every time? I wouldn't be the only one driven to drown their sorrows in alcohol!"

I sat back down, horrified by that thought. Peeta was looking at me, and so was Effie, waiting for a reaction. Instead I picked up my fork and started eating the scrambled eggs.

"That's what I thought," Haymitch said and returned to his seat.

It was quiet for a couple of minutes, then Effie had to go and ruin everything.

"So, Peeta, Katniss, how did you two sleep last night?"

I stopped eating, the fork pausing halfway up to my mouth. I slowly sat it down. "Fine."

"Hmmmm? Oh, and Peeta, we can get you a new room if yours is uncomfortable."

I looked over at him, and his pale face was flushed red. I imagine mine looked about the same.

"New room? Where did you sleep last night?" Is Haymitch really that slow?

"Um, well, I slept in Katniss's room," Peeta said very slowly, enunciating every syllable. He tried to keep his voice light, but you could tell he was getting his defenses up if Haymitch got mad.

He looked back and forth between us. "Huh," was all he said, and guffawed all through breakfast. I shot daggers through my eyes, but all it did was make him laugh harder.

Effie glanced at her watch. "I should take you down to training in thirty minutes. Could you go change into-" she walked out of the room and came back seconds later. "These?"

We took the packages and started to head back to our rooms. "Oh, and you two?" We turned back to her. "Use your separate rooms please." This only made Haymtch's mocking laughter start up again.

I blushed and said to Peeta once we got to my door, "Did it really look like that was what we were doing?"

He leaned against the wall. "Well, you did kind of climb on top of me..."

I nudged him on the shoulder and he smiled. "Since when does Katniss Everdeen care what people think about her?"

"Since there is going to be a show on television about how she dies." His carefree expression turned into hurt.

"You aren't going to die." He leaned down and kissed me softly. "Bye, love."

I watched him walk halfway to his room and then turned on my heel to go in mine. I stripped off the clothes that I slept in and put on the outfit that Effie gave me. It was a light blue shirt that said "DISTRICT 12" across the back. I had black pants that fit my legs perfectly and were comfortable to move in.

I left my room and went to the elevator. Effie was already standing there, waiting for us. A couple of seconds later, Peeta walked out of the hallway. He smiled when he saw me and gave me a quick peck on the forehead. "We match," he laughed.

I took his hand as we went into the elevator. The ride was very quick, but you could see everything around you. We stepped out of the elevator and Effie walked us to the Training Center. She held open the doors for us.

We stepped in and immediately stopped walking.

No one else was matching, or even talking to each other. They were all glaring at us, our clothes, and our hands.

This was going to be a long day.

A/N: What did you think? I feel like I didn't really put much into this chapter. I'm just excited to write about when they go into the games ;). Review, please!

Bye!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: So, as I was painting my nails with my Katy Perry nail polish, I realized something. I haven't updated in a couple of days. So, here it is! Chapter Seven! But I have something to say. Some people (including me) think Katniss is OOC. But guys, isn't that the point of the story? Katniss doing something that she swore she never would? Taking a chance at love instead of pushing it away?

Chapter Seven

I took a deep breath and pulled Peeta to the nearest empty station. We pretty much already knew everything at this station, seeing that it was knot tying.

I wanted to hide from eveyone in the room, to just disappear. But that hasn't been possible since Prim's name was pulled at the reaping.

We stayed over at the edible plants station, where Peeta and I got along well with the trainer because of our knowledge of plants. When Peeta dragged me over to the camoflauge station, I asked him why.

"Because you've seen me frost a cake plenty of times, and I want to see how different it is frosting yourself." Turns out, for him, it wasn't much different. He was a natural at it. Me, on the other hand, made my arm look like it was from a monster.

I wrinkled my nose and held it up for him to see. "Well, people would run from me." He laughed.

I quickly glanced around the room. Again, people were staring. I sighed. We wiped our arms off and went to the spear throwing station.

After three spears were thrown, (and had missed the target) Peeta whispered in my ear, "I think we have a shadow," I looked over my shoulder to see the small twelve year old from District Eleven watching us curiously from a few feet away. She reminded me so much of Prim that it hurt.

"What are we going to do about it?" I whispered back. He shrugged and picked up another spear.

She followed us around to every station we went to. Then, when we went to lunch, Peeta and I sat at a table alone. The careers sat at one table, and a couple of smaller groups sat at others. It seemed as if the alliances were already formed.

The little girl was one of the last ones to get their food. She walked out of the line and looked around. I smiled at her, telling her she could come sit with us. She came and sat down across the table from us. "What's your name?" Peeta asked.

"Rue," she said quietly. It was barely above a whisper.

"I'm Peeta, and this is Katniss." We smiled and exchanged hello's. I don't know why I let her come sit with us. I didn't want to get attached. It would only hurt if she died.

Peeta tried breaking the ice by telling us where all of the bread that was in the basket on our table came from. "This is from District Four," he said, holding up a small loaf with a greenish tint in it. "It has seewead. And this-" he said, holding up another loaf in the shape of a crescent, "is from-"

"District Eleven," Rue said. It was at a normal level, and her voice was very light and sweet. Even with her dark skin you could see she was blushing. "We had a loaf exactly like that for breakfast on the day of the reaping. I gave my piece to my little brother, because I had work to do."

"Don't you have the day off for the reaping?" I asked, curious.

"Oh no, we still have to work until one thirty. Then we go home and get dressed for the reaping. It starts at two."

"Huh. Everything is closed in District Twelve on the reaping," Peeta added.

"We still have lots of work to do. We almost never get breaks." My heart shattered. This girl couldn't weigh more than sixty or seventy pounds, yet she has to work all the time. "The only thing I do to pass the time is sing."

Prim.

I almost let out a little squeak. Prim loved to sing so much. She loved music. She loved dancing. And a little girl who is so much like her, who would probably be her best friend if they ever met, is probably going to die.

Much to my relief, lunch ended and we continued with training. I couldn't say I put all of my effort into learning everything, because it was all so distracting with Rue there. In my mind I was putting Prim in her place.

I sighed. Peeta, sensing my stress, pulled me over to the archery station.

"You always said you would teach me," he said.

I laughed. "I tried to. Remember?"

He grinned. "Yeah, I guess trying to shoot with a bow as soon as you get it isn't a very good idea. Remind me again, how is it possible to get an arrow lodged in your shoe without it even touching your foot?"

I smiled. "I don't know. And you were pointing straight in front of you, not below you."

Now he was starting to get a little embarressed. I could see his pale cheeks flush slightly, and my smile wore off a little bit. I walked to the table and picked up two similar bows. I handed him one of them. "You stand like this," I said and parted my legs slightly. "Keep your back straight. Hold the bow-" I brought it up "-like this. And then you shoot." I was aiming at the little red dot on the target. It was a clean shot.

I turned around to see him smiling at me. It made me smile a little, too. "What?" I giggled. Giggled? Then I realized why. Shooting made me feel like I was back in Twelve. It made me happy.

"If we weren't in a room full of people, I would kiss you right now," I smiled at his words. He left off a necessary piece of the sentence, though. He's kissed me in a room full of people before, even though it made me squirm. He meant that if we weren't in a room full of people _who wanted to kill us_ he would've kissed me.

I kept trying to get Peeta to hit the target, and eventually he did. After 58 tries. Not that I was counting. And it was still way off center.

The two days of training went by very quickly. My stomach churned at the thought of the Hunger Games. They were getting closer and closer.

We sat outside of the room, waiting for Rue to finish her private training session with the Gamemakers. Peeta was holding onto my right hand with both of his, stroking the back of it absentmindedly. I leaned slightly against his side and turned my head towards him. "So, what are you going to do for the Gamemakers?"

"I'm not sure. Throw some weights around I guess. There aren't very many things I can do that are useful."

"That's not true. Your good at making bread," I pointed out, trying to make a little joke.

He laughed quietly. "Yes, I suppose so."

We waited in a comfortable silence for fifteen minutes. They called his name and when he got up, I grabbed his hand. "Do something special. They are going to be tired by now. Make yourself stick out in there minds."

"I will. You... shoot straight."

I nodded, for once unimpressed by his words. I almost never miss a shot.

Twenty minutes later Peeta exited and gave me a quick reassuring smile. I smile back. Then they called my name.

I walked in and looked at the Gamemakers. They were singing a song. Drunk! I turned away in disgust and walked over to the archery station. I picked up the bow that I was using earlier and picked a target. Again, it hit right on the dot. I shot the remainder of the targets and the dummies, but when I looked over to the Gamemakers I realized that they had completely ignored what I just did. The two that were watching me got distracted by the roast pig being brought in.

A surge of pure, white hot rage went through me. They paid more attention to a dead pig than to someone who might not even be alive in the next week. I was barely aware of what I did next.

I grabbed another arrow and loaded my bow. I aimed for the apple in the pigs mouth and released. The apple shot out from the mouth and lodged itself in the wall. People screamed. One man actually fell backwards into a punch bowl.

I gave them a cocky and sarcastic smile. "Thank you for your consideration."

I threw the bow to the side as I left. A couple of the women actually squealed. I smirked, but that only lasted for a second. Then I realized with horror at what I did. Will they arrest me? Will they arrest my family?

I entered the elevator with my terrifying thoughts. I came in here to save Prim. What if I just did the opposite of that?

Once I reached the twelfth floor everyone was waiting for me. I sped past them and into my room. I collapsed on my bed and laid there, face down. I didn't hear him come in, but Peeta sat beside me, stroking my hair. When Effie came to get me to come to dinner, Peeta had to coax me out of the safe pillow. I finally sat up and had to face the evil world. I looked over to Peeta on the other side of the bed.

He really was perfect. With his sand colored hair that fell down over his forehead and his bright blue eyes that looked so odd against the dark coal dust that settled against District Twelve.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine." He sat there, searching my face to see what was bothering me.

He took my hand. "Wanna talk about it?"

I sighed and looked at our entwined fingers. "I'd rather not."

He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "Okay," he said, and started to get off of the bed. "Let's go eat."

We got there and we were immediately bombed with questions.

"What's wrong?"

"What did you do?"

"Did you do something to offend the Gamemakers?"

"What happened?"

Haymitch shushed them. "Who wants to go first?" He asked, making it clear that we had to tell what happened.

I looked over at Peeta with pleading eyes. He volunteered. "Well, half of them were drunk and I didn't really have anyting to do anyways. They had these weights that you could throw around, so that's really all I did. I started off with the lighter ones. The went about twenty, twenty five feet away. Then, I picked up the heaviest one and tried to throw it. It almost landed on my toe. One of them actually laughed." His face was bright red.

I wanted to laugh, as I could see that in my mind. But I knew it was my turn now. "I shot an arrow at the Gamemakers. One fell into a bowl of punch." I laughed hollowly. "It was actually a little funny."

I had been staring at my food, and I hadn't noticed that they were completely silent. I looked up to them, only to find them all with wide eyes and open mouths. But not Haymitch. His face was a mix of two completely different emotions, that I couldn't understand. His face was grim, but his gray eyes were alive and bright.

Even Peeta had disbelief on his face. Finally, Effie regained her ability to speak. "You did _what?"_

I shifted uncomfortably. "They were paying more attention to the roasted pig than to me. So I shot the apple in the pigs mouth. I stand by what I did."

"And they just dismissed you?"

"No. I dismissed myself."

"Dismissed yourself," Effie said, almost inaudible. She looked like she was going to faint. "Oh."

"Do you think they'll arrest my family? Will I be executed?" I was honestly scared that death was going to come sooner than expected.

Cinna shook his head. "They won't do that. What if you make it to the final eight? Who would they interview?"

"It'd be a pain to replace you now," Haymitch said. It was the first time he had spoked so far. "They'll probably just make your life in the Games hell."

"It already is," Peeta added.

"Well," Portia said, standing up. "The scores should be up by now. Let's just hope you did well."

We followed her into the big TV room. I sat on the couch beside Peeta.

The Careers scored high scores, naturally. After that though people were getting fours andd fives. Surprisingly, little Rue got a seven. Peeta did, too.

I kissed him lightly and said, "Congratulations."

He gave me another quick peck. "Thank you."

I turned to the television and sucked in a deep breath as I prepared to see the zero flashing under my picture. But when my picture came up, underneath was a big bold eleven.

Eleven!

Everyone jumped up and cheered but I was to stunned to move. How did _I _get the highest score?

I didn't have time to dwell on the question, because Peeta pulled me onto my feet and spun me around. "Eleven! Oh, Katniss, I'm so proud of you!"

I gave weak smiles to everyone then Effie shooed us away to our rooms.

Before he could protest, I pulled Peeta into my room with me. I climbed into my bed and laid there, curled up in a ball. Peeta followed and molded his body to mine and pulled my hair out of my face. I fell asleep to the sweet rhythm of his breathing.

A/N: Okay, didn't know where to end this. And READ: Haymitch looked sad/glad because he knew that because of what Katniss did did not put the odds in her favor, and that she would be the perfect leader to the rebellion. Okay that's it. Fun fact: I cried twice today because I was so happy. 1. The resumed the Hunger Games nail polish, now called the "Capitol Colours" 2. Taylor Swift is on the Hunger Games sound track. My three favorite things, Taylor Swift, The Hunger Games, and nail polish.

Bye!


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Chapter Eight is in the house tonight! Woah, that was the nerdiest thing I've ever heard. Did I really just say Chapter Eight instead of party rock?

Chapter Eight

I woke up encased in warmth. I snuggled up against Peeta a little more, breathing in the unique smell of cinnamon and dill. I wanted to live in this moment for as long as I could, but I knew it would only last until Effie came crashing in again.

Peeta stirred and opened his eyes. He gazed down sleepily at me. "Hey."

I smiled at him. "Hey."

I laid my head against his chest and he wrapped his arms around me. I could just see what we would have been like one day if it weren't for the Hunger Games. We would've lived a long life together, and no matter how hard it got, we would've pulled through. But that's just a fantasy. It could never come true.

He traced circles on my back, and even through the fabric I could feel a blaze floating across my skin. I sighed. My brain was starting to fully wake up, and I couldn't stand being still for so long. I liked the action. I gave Peeta a quick kiss and took a pair of clothes to the bathroom.

"Katniss?" Peeta knocked on the door while I was getting ready to get in the shower.

"Yeah?"

"I'm going down to breakfast. I need to talk to Haymitch."

"Okay."

I climbed in the shower and resumed pressing the buttons where I left off last time. One button blasted out a yellow foam that smelled like lemons. Another rained roses down on my head. I laughed and picked a wet petal off of my arm.

I hopped out of the shower and experimented with the buttons on the _outside _of the shower. There was one that completely dried my hair, sending it down into a dark silky wave across my back. I pulled the dark green shirt over my head and put on my pants and walked out of my room.

Everyone was already in the dining room. There was a mountain of different breakfast foods, and I only realized how hungry I was when I saw it. I piled a heaping mound of eggs onto my plate along with a bunch of bacon and rolls. They had a variety of jelly and jam, and I spread some black raspberry jam onto one of my rolls. The other one I put some honey on, which reminded me of the clover honey that I get back in District Twelve. I grabbed a steaming cup of hot chocolate and sat down at my spot besides Peeta. He looked at my plate and then gave me an amused look.

"For such a tiny girl you have quite an appetite."

"I was hungry."

He laughed and dipped a piece of his roll into his hot chocolate. I grabbed another one for me and followed his example. It only made him laugh harder.

"So, are you going to give us any advice for the interviews? I can eat and listen at the same time," I said with a snarky tone at Haymitch.

He glared at me and then started speaking. "You will each have four hours with Effie and four hours with me."

I realized with horror that I was going to have four hours _alone_ with Effie. Well, at least I'll have Peeta.

Haymitch, having read my mind, continued. "You will be training separately."

My eyebrows furrowed together. "Separately? I thought we decided that we were going to train together."

Haymitch looked over at Peeta and then back at me. "Peeta said he wanted to train separately."

Peeta shifted slightly in his seat, as if bracing himself. This made me even more confused. "Why don't you want to train together?"

Peeta opened his mouth but Haymitch started talking before him. "Maybe he has a secret talent that he doesn't want you to know."

I looked back at Peeta, startled. He was hiding secrets from me?

I pushed back from the table, pissed off. I stormed to my room with Peeta following behind.

"Katniss, wait!"

He didn't get to finish whatever he was going to say because I slammed the door behind me.

We have a relationship for two years and this is what I get? Keeping secrets? Well that's a good way to reassure a girl that you love her as much as you say you do.

I know it's ridiculous to be mad, but does he really think if it came down to it I would kill him? Does he think that the only thing stopping me from killing him is that secret?

After twenty minutes of fuming, Effie came to get me. She said I needed to improve my "class". We spent the entire four hours with her teaching me to walk in ridiculously high heels, the "proper" way to sit, and how to carefully choose my words. I almost laughed to myself at how dumb she thinks I am.

With Haymitch it was even worst. The entire first hour we tried to think of an angle for me to play. To Haymitch, I wasn't witty, smart, pretty, funny, light-hearted, kind, loving, likeable, elegant, classy, sexy, careful, clever, helpful, agreeable, brave, calm, faithful, gentle, obedient, or proud. I was odd, angry, uptight, grumpy, careless, stubborn, repulsive, obnoxious, and scary. I fired back a remark at how that sounded like him. That only earned me getting glared at by him for two hours and forty five minutes.

Finally, he said "just be the lovesick girl." Then he walked out and left me sitting there.

I sighed and walked back to my room. My prep team came to get me and dragged me to the bathroom. They did my hair and make up. Cinna told them not to put on too much make up, because he wanted the audience to recognise me when I was in the Games. I was grateful for that because they were pouting about how they couldn't dye my skin of get the gems embedded in my skin.

Then Cinna came with my dress. It was almost as breathtaking as the chariot ride costumes. It was blue, and when it moved it gave the appearance that it too was on fire.

"Oh, Cinna, it's perfect!"

"I thought you might like it. Are you nervous?"

I took a deep breath and looked over to him. "Does it show that much?"

He shook his head. "No. It's just that Portia said Peeta was upset because of something that happened. And I thought that you might be too?"

I put on the dress. "Well, I think that Peeta is keeping secrets from me. We said that we were going to train together but he wanted to be trained separately. I don't know what to think about that."

"Maybe he just felt it wouldn't be necessary for you to know."

"Maybe."

"So," Cinna said, changing the subject. "What are you going to do for the interviews?"

"Well, I have a long list of what I'm _not _going to do. According to Haymitch I'm horrendous."

He laughed. "Just tell the audience about yourself. Like you're talking to a friend back home."

"I don't have any friends. Well, besides Peeta and Gale. But they already know everything about me." I paused for a second. "There is Madge. But even she knows most of my life. It's not very exciting."

He came over to adjust my dress. "Can you consider me a friend?"

"Yes. Out of everyone that I've met in the Capitol, you are by far my favorite."

He chuckled. "Just pretend you're telling me about you."

He led me out of the room to the elevator. We were, yet again, the last people there. Peeta smiled at me and I reluctantly smiled back. I just need to forgive him.

"You look beautiful," he said, and reached for my hand.

I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding. "Thank you."

He kissed the back of my hand and I blushed.

"Alright, now, we don't want to be late do we?" Effie said.

As we were boarding the elevator, Peeta murmured, "I'm sorry," into my ear.

I smiled back it him. "It's okay."

When we got to our destination, I felt a wave of nausea settle over me. There must have been at least a thousand people in the audience. They lled us over to our seats and Peeta noticed the look I had on my face. He stroked the back of my hand.

The interviews only last three minutes long. But this time, they felt shorter. And with each passing interview, I felt more and more nervous. Only when it got to Rue did I calm down some.

"Rue," Caeser started. "How did you get that seven?"

"Well, I'm very hard to catch. And if they can't catch me they can't kill me. So don't count me out."

Caesar placed a powdered hand on hers and gave a warm smile. Well, as warm as you can get when your lips are blue. "I wouldn't count you out for the world."

When it came to Thresh's turn, he was actually very quiet for someone his size. He could actually play the quiet and menacing angle, whereas I couldn't. I scowled at him.

The bell rang. It was my turn. I stood up and Peeta muttered, "good luck."

I shook hands with Caesar Flickerman. We sat down in the seat and Caesar asked, "What is your favorite thing about the Capitol so far?"

I contemplated. I decided I was going to be completely honest. "The lamb stew."

The audience laughed and Caesar said, "The one with the dried plums? Oh, I eat it by buckets!" He turned to the side. "It doesn't show, does it?"

The audience reassured him that it didn't and the interview continued. "So, Katniss, you're a very pretty and charming girl."

I stopped him with a "Take _that, _Haymitch!" The audience laughed and cheered. Haymitch waved to them and I turned my attention back to Caesar.

"Do you have a boyfriend back home?"

He already knew the answer to that. He just wanted me to confirm the rumors. "Well, I wouldn't really say back at home," the audience became completely silent. I leaned in towards Caesar. He leaned in too. "He came with me."

The audience roared with "I knew it!", "Yes!", "That's tragic!" Those are the only pieces that I caught.

Caesar gave me a sympathetic smile. "So the rumors are true?"

I smiled sadly and nodded. "I didn't know anything like this could happen. It never crossed my mind that it could. I was heartbroken when they called his name."

"We thought that you two were together."

I watched in horror as they played a clip from the other morning. It was before Effie barged in on us. I was climbing on top of Peeta and kissing him like I would never stop when the clip ended.

"How long have you been together?"

I snapped out of my anger. I couldn't afford to get mad.

"Well, I've been best friends with Peeta since we were eleven. We started dating when we were fourteen."

"When did you realize that you were in love with him?"

I took a deep breath and I felt the blood rush to my cheeks. "I've liked him since we were eleven." I looked over at Peeta to see his reaction. He was smiling, but he was still blushing. "He saved my life. That's how we met."

The audience became silent once again. "What happened?"

I proceeded to tell how we were starving to death after the passing of my father, and how Peeta gave me the two loaves of bread.

"That's tragic!" Caesar exclaimed. "But it led to something great, didn't it?"

I smiled. "Yes, it did."

"So, tell me about your sister."

I told the audience, well, I told Cinna about how I loved Prim more than anything and how I couldn't stand to see her go into the Games. In the end, Caesar asked, "Did she say anything to you before you left?"

My voice was barely above a whisper. "She asked me to win."

"And what did you say?"

My voice cracked. "I said I would try."

The bell rang and I stood up. "Good luck, Katniss Everdeen!"

I smiled to him and went to my seat. I passed Peeta on the way, who smiled to me. I sat down and watched Peeta. I wonder if he felt as violated as I did when they played the clip.

Peeta and Caesar immediately got off to a good start. I could tell what his angle was. He was likeable. They got into a banter where they would smell each other, saying that they smelled like oranges and roses. The audience was in hysterics.

"Peeta, when did you realize that you were in love with Katniss?"

Peeta chuckled nervously and he blushed. "Oh, she's going to kill me for saying this, but I've been in love with her since I was five. I don't think I realized it yet, but I knew I was a goner when she started singing."

The audienced 'aww'ed, and I listened to him in shock. He told how his father was in love with my mother and how he pointed me out and said "See that girl? I wanted to marry her mother." Peeta said that he remembered the dress that I wore and how my hair was in two braids instead of one. Then he said that the birds stopped singing to listen when I started singing the Valley Song.

Was that why he saved me? Why he gave me the bread?

The bell rang, signalling Peeta's three minutes were up. "Good luck to the star-crossed lovers from District Twelve!"

I blushed when Caesar yelled that out and stood up for the anthem. I was still angry from when they played the short clip. And I was disgusted that they would have cameras in the bedroom.

When we got on the elevator people were smirking at me. I stared straight ahead and tried to ignore them. When the elevator emptied and we were alone, I turned to Peeta.

"Can you believe they played that? They had no right!" At this point the elevator opened and everyone was standing there. I stormed out of it. "How dare they do such a thing? How dare they put cameras in the bedrooms?"

"Sweetheart calm-"

"Haymitch, don't you dare 'sweetheart' me! You have no idea how violated I feel!"

"Calm down! No doubt they are recording this too!"

I abruptly stopped. "Will you ask them to stop?"

Haymitch sighed. "Let me go see what I can do."

Effie guided us to the dinner table, but I was still mad. We ate in silence until Haymitch came back. "They disconnected the cameras. I would be careful though. It took them quite a while to agree to it."

Again, silence.

I filled my stomach up with the rich food, as it will probably be the last time I will ever eat anything like it. Afterwards I told Peeta to go wait in my room, that I would be right there.

I went down and sat next to Haymitch. We were the only two people left in the dining room.

"Haymitch."

"Katniss."

"I don't hate you. I just hope you don't hate me as much as you say you do."

I got up and walked away after I said that. I'm not going to see him or Effie tomorrow, they already told me that much.

I got to my room and Peeta wasn't there. After I changed I heard a knock on the door. "Come in."

"Sorry, I wanted to get out of those clothes."

"It's okay. I understand. I did too."

"Katniss, I want you to know that, no matter what happens, I will always love you. I love you more than anything in the world. You_ are _my world. If I do make it out of there, and you..." His voice cracked. "I would never be able to love anyone else. You are the single reason that I live. You are my life. I love you."

I had a lump in my throat. "I love you, too. I feel like I don't say it enough, but really, living without you would be like living without air. Without food. I _need _you. I depend on you. Without you I can't survive. I love you so much sometimes it hurts."

He wrapped his arms around me and we stayed like that all night.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I woke up when my prep team came in the room. They saw Peeta and me laying there with our arms wrapped around each other and started crying. Peeta kissed me and told me he loved me and left.

Cinna came and gave me the arena clothes. Green pants, a black shirt, a jacket, brown leather boots. He also gave me something else.

"I found it on your dress. It's your district token right?"

I looked down at the small golden pin. I could see now that it was a mockingjay, and I felt a surge of joy spread through out my body. It's like having a little piece of my father in the Games with me.

"Yes. Thank you. I almost forgot about it."

"It almost didn't pass the Gamemakers. They thought it would give you an unfair advantage." Cinna said.

"My friend Madge gave it to me." I felt guilty because I haven't thought of her much since I was here.

He led me to the hovercraft. It froze me on the ladder and they shot something into my arm. "Don't worry," A young woman said. "It's just your tracker."

Cinna tried to coax some food in me, but I just sipped a glass of water. I looked at the clock. 9:56. Four minutes.

He led me to the cylinder that brought us up to the arena. I stepped inside and took a deep breath. Then it started moving.

We were in a clearing by a lake. I sighed in relief. There were trees. the other side of the clearing was a big patch of grass.

I scanned the other tributes for Peeta. I found him five tributes over. He was watching me. My gaze slid over to the cornucopia and then back to him. He was shaking his head.

"Ladies and Gentleman!" Claudius Templesmith's voice boomed out over the arena.

"Let the Seventy Fourth Hunger Games begin!"

A/N: YAY! I finally get to write about the Games :) Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Chapter Nine! ARE YOU READY FOR THE GAMES? Oh, and Jace's heart: Yeah, I guess that's why he asked to be trained separately. I just really couldn't think of a way to make them train together...

Part 2: The Arena

Chapter Nine

One minute. Sixty seconds. Sixty thousand milliseconds. Whatever you want to call it, it's all we have to gather our fears and push them away. You can't be afraid to die. It's inevitable. For twenty three people, anyways.

I shook off that thought. I know, when push comes to shove, I'll have to kill. I hope it's just like Gale said. That it won't be too different from killing animals.

I scanned the cornucopia again. There! Underneath a pile of weapons, I can see the edge of a gleaming silver bow. It's the same one that I had in the training center. Even though I might be seconds away from death, I'm happy. The Gamemakers obviously put the beautiful bow in there for me!

I looked back at Peeta, and found him looking my way. Even from this far away, I could see the sorrow etched on his face. If my sudden ecstacy showed up on mine, then everyone back home must think I'm crazy.

I got ready to make a run for it. I skimmed the ground around me. All that was there was a thin piece of plastic. It might help with the wind... Oh, what the heck, I'll just grab it on the way to the cornucopia.

The gong sounded and I was immediately off of my plate and sprinting. I dropped low so I could pick up the plastic and kept running. Even though I'm no doubt one of the fastest girls in my school, there were some people at the cornucopia already. I ran up and looked for the bow. "Where is it?"

"Looking for this, Twelve?"

I grabbed a knife and whipped my head around. The girl from District One, Glimmer, was standing with my bow in her hands. I chucked the knife at her and it cut her arm. She fell backwards. I almost laughed. Was she that pampered, that at the slightest scrape she freaks out?

No matter the answer, I didn't dwell on it. I turned and grabbed an orange bag, only to have someone else grab it at the same time. It was the boy from Nine. I tugged on it, but then blood squirted from his mouth and he fell. It landed all over me, my face, my clothes, and my hair. I looked up and saw the girl from District Two with dozens of knives in her hands. She threw one at me next but I dodged it. I saw someone run for her when someone big rammed against my back.

I turned, ready to attack, but it was Peeta.

Our bodies slammed back against each other, sharing possibly the most forceful kiss we've ever had. And the quickest.

I pulled back when a knife whizzed by our heads. "Run!"

I sprinted towards the woods. I felt guilty, because it took me a few seconds to see that Peeta wasn't following me. I was already to the edge of the woods when I looked back. He was fighting off a Career, the boy from Four. My heart leapt into my throat. Then Peeta had him pinned against the ground and I felt the tiniest bit better. I didn't wait any longer. I turned and bolted through the thick blanket of green.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It's funny, how long someone can run when they're scared for their life. As soon as you get even a little bit tired, you remember that someone could leap out from behind a tree and kill you at any second.

I have been running for a couple hours now, and I still haven't heard any cannons. That means that the bloodbath at the cornucopia is still going on.

I finally stopped running. I looked around. There were some willow trees, and they were pretty tall. They would just have to do.

I walked over to one of the trees and pulled a stick off. It wasn't as good as rope, but I could definitely set up a few snares with it.

Right when I was finished putting up the seventh snare, the cannons rang out. I counted eight. I squeezed my eyes shut and leaned against the tree. Eight people dead. Then a thought that I knew was going to haunt me until tonight crept into my head.

Did that include Peeta?

I tried to push it away from my head with everything that I had, but it just wouldn't go away. Would his gleaming white smile ever flash again? Will his blue eyes ever shine again? Will his chest ever rise and fall with each breath?

The terrifying thoughts played over and over again in my head. It took me a second to hear the other cannons going off. There were two following each other.

I grabbed my orange pack and climbed the closest tree. I got onto a high limb and started picking through the backpack. There was a black sleeping bag, two knives (one of them was the one I picked up at the cornucopia), a belt, eight crackers, and ten strips of dried beef. No water.

I really needed to find some. Haymitch told me to make that my top priority. It would be absolutely pathetic if I had survived all of the fights but died because I couldn't find any water.

I strapped my sleeping bag into the tree and snuggled into it. I almost sighed in relief. It reflects your body temperature.

I banished all thoughts of Peeta from my head and tried to get some sleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I woke up quickly. Being a hunter, you can usually sense things before you see them or hear them. I scanned through the leaves of the tree slowly and thoroughly; I had a nagging feeling that someone was out there.

I was right. About ten minutes later, someone started a fire. I immediately started shouting insults in my head. _Are you that stupid? Do you _want _to die? They _are_ going to see that fire and come after you!_

Looking closely I could see that it was the girl from District Eight.

Right at that moment the anthem started. There should be ten faces in the sky tonight.

The first face in the sky was the girl from Three. That meant all the tributes from One and Two were alive, as well as the boy from Three. Surprisingly, the next face in the sky was the boy from Four. A sour taste crept into my mouth. Did Peeta kill him?

The faces kept coming. The boy from Five. The girl from Six. Both from Seven. The boys from Eight and Nine. Both from Ten.

I was happy when the lights in the sky went out. Well, not happy, but relieved. Relieved that Peeta was okay, that Rue was okay, and that I was okay. But the girl from Eight was not.

Her bloodcurdling scream pierced the silence of the night. I stiffened and listened as I heard her cry for mercy.

There was another scream, one that gurgled slightly. I sucked in a deep breath. I could almost hear the blood rushing out of her mouth.

The killers stampeded on until they stopped at my tree.

"Are you sure she's dead?" A boys voice that I couldn't place asked.

"Yeah, Cato, I haven't heard a cannon." It was Glimmer. If I could move, my face would probably fill with jealousy. She had _my _bow.

"Relax, I struck her myself. She's dead alright," I assumed it was Cato.

"Maybe someone should go back and check..." A high pitched voice said. It was a girl, probably the one from District Four.

"I said that she is dead. I stabbed her myself!" A strain was showing through Cato's voice.

"Look, Cato-"

"Stop fighting! I'll go back and make sure she's dead!" My eyes widened in horror. That was _Peeta. _

Peeta with the _Careers?_ I can imagine that everyone at home hates him now, including his friends and family.

"Yeah, let Lover Boy go," Glimmer said. I narrowed my eyes at the name. They were making fun of us.

I could hear Peeta's familiar loud footsteps as he stomped back to the girl. That's when they started whispering.

"Tell me again _why_ you wanted him with us?" It was the girl from Four.

"He's the only chance we have to finding _her_. Then we can get rid of him. We find her, and I can win. " I could only assume that they were talking about me.

"How can you be so sure that _you_ are going to win?"

"It sure as hell isn't going to be you."

Peeta was coming back. I almost rolled my eyes at his loud feet.

"Was she dead?"

"She is now." The cannon sounded and a chill ran down my spine. Even though I ached to jump out of the tree and touch him, I was scared of him.

The others started talking about their plan, but Peeta was standing off to the side. Then, as if he could tell I was there, his head snapped up and he was staring straight into my eyes. His expression softened and he let out a long breath. He swallowed a couple of times and blinked furiously, like he was going to cry. He glanced back at the others to make sure they weren't watching. He looked back at me and mouthed, "Katniss?"

I nodded as slowly as I could. Then I mouthed back, "I love you."

He closed his eyes. I knew exactly what he was feeling. This might be the last time we ever see each other... Alive.

"Let's move, people!" Cato's voice snapped us both back to reality. Everyone started east, but Peeta lingered. He looked back at me one more time and left.

I swallowed and watched the light from their torch as they walked away. I wish Peeta was here right now. I had kind of gotten used to him sleeping next to me.

I loved the way his arm curled around my waist, sending little sparks throughout my entire body. I loved the way that cinnamon and dill clung to him wherever he went. I loved the way the sound of his even breathing lulled me to sleep. I loved the way he tells me he loves me. I loved the way he told me everything was going to be safe and sound.

I managed to get a couple more hours of sleep. When I dropped out of the tree I tilted my head slightly and gave a cocky smile. Let the audience think that we had planned to get Peeta into the pack of Careers. Let them think I'm okay with it.

I went to go check the snares and I got lucky. Hanging from one of my last snares was a plump gray rabbit. "Thank God I listened to Gale when he talked nonstop about these snares," I muttered under my breath as I untied it.

I was hungry, but I didn't want to eat the rabbit raw. Eating raw rabbit can give you rabbit fever, which I learned the hard way. And setting a fire could lead the Careers right to me, which the girl from District Eight proved last night. I mulled over how I could cook the rabbit, when it suddenly clicked. The fire! The coals will still be hot, probably hot enough to cook my rabbit.

I trekked over to the place where the girl had died. The log that she had been sitting on had her blood splattered all over it. I forced myself to look away and to focus on the coals.

I skinned the rabbit and wrapped it in leaves to cook it. I was starving, and I was getting a little impatient, too. Finally I couldn't wait any longer. I wrapped half of the rabbit up in my plastic and left the other out to eat.

As I walked along through the forest munching on my rabbit, I realized how parched my mouth had become. There was one spot on my tongue that refused to moisten up. My breath was making ragged, dry sounds when I breathed. I needed water. Fast.

I used one of the rabbit's legs to grease my lips, but they still felt dry and like they were cracking. My throat was on fire.

I walked for at least two hours searching for water. My legs only moved forwards in hope that there might be a little pond or a stream nearby. I became so weak that I'm sure little Rue could come across me and push me over and finish me off with my own knife. I wouldn't be able to fight back.

I took in a sharp breath and wondered where Haymitch was. Couldn't he send me water? Surely I have enough sponsers that they can afford one little pint of water. I opened my mouth and summoned all my strength to talk. "Water."

I waited and looked around for a silver parachute. Nothing. Well at least I know that Haymitch is once again drowning his sorrows in alcohol... Wait. Or is he? Maybe he's sending me a message. Maybe he doesn't want to waste the money for something that I've almost found!

With new found hope, I stood up and started walking around. After I went about a hundred feet in a circle, I lost more hope every second. It was far more likely that he was too drunk to stand.

My knees buckled and I collapsed. I landed on the slightly wet ground and prepared to die. It won't be _that _bad. At least I didn't get mangled by the Careers. It's better this way.

I rolled onto my stomach and barely took in the ground around me. The air smelled like flowers, almost like a lily. And the ground was moist and soft.

I began making small swirling patterns in the mud. Ahh, I love mud.

My eyes snapped open.

"Mud!"

A/N: Ok, so I didn't have time to add more, so I'm just going to end this here. I hope you guys had a great Christmas! And I hope you have a happy New Years Eve!

P.S. I was going to post this yesterday, but I couldn't because I stayed the night at my friends house... Don't be mad!


	10. Author's Note

**A/N: Ok, guys, I think this story is getting REALLLYY OOC. And I have MAJOR writer's block. Should I continue? **

**P.S. My friend just got a fanfiction account! It's motisizi54, and when she posts a story (If I continue to update) I'm going to tell you to check it out! She wants suggestions on what to write about...**

**P.P.S. I'm sorry if I got your hopes up for a new chapter!**


	11. Chapter 10

A/N: Happy New Years! And I realized that in the last chapter I forgot to put iodine and the canteen in her backpack... Sorry for the mistake!

I'm sorry I scared you guys; I just couldn't figure out how to make the characters act. And I have a question: I feel like I made Katniss hate Glimmer more than she does in the books. Do you guys think so?

Guess what! **motisizi54 **posted her first story! It's called The Baker's Son. You should go read it! I love it! It's adorable!

Chapter Ten

"Mud!"

I scrambled onto my hands and knees. The flowery smell, those _were_ lilies! Water lilies! I crawled, well, more like dragged myself to the source of the water. I splashed my face with it and pulled out my canteen. I was so happy that I was practically squealing, which trust me, Katniss Everdeen does _not_ squeal.

I filled the canteen and pulled out the iodine. I put the right amount of drops of iodine in the water. My fingers were shaking in anticipation, or maybe it was from the lack of water.

I waited for what seemed like hours, but in reality was probably no more than thirty minutes. Finally, I shakily brought the canteen up to my lips. The water tasted delicious, and it felt like heaven when the cool wet substance slid down my throat. Before long the only thing coming out of the canteen was a drip. I drank two quarts of water already?

I tossed the thought aside and repeated the process. Once I had drained the canteen for a second time, I filled it once more and stood up. I wobbled and my stomach felt sloshy. I'm surprised I didn't absorb the water like a sponge, because of how dehydrated I was. I guess hearing the water splash around in my stomach is what I get for drinking a whole quart of water.

I walked along until a cannon sounded. I was almost certain it wasn't Peeta, because if the Careers killed him then they had no way of getting to me. And if he was dead I would go on a homicidal rampage and kill everyone in the arena before the day was over.

But I still couldn't help but wonder who it was. So far, it's been a pretty slow day. Only two deaths so far. The audience must be getting bored... And Gamemakers do not like unsatisfied audiences.

I walked around for an hour, making sure no one was following me. A couple of minutes later I heard footsteps. Well, not footsteps, it must be some animals because it sounds like they are traveling in a pack.

I was right. Seconds later a pack of wild dogs came racing out of the woods from the opposite direction. I looked to see what they were running from and my eyes widened.

A wall of fire was descending.

I hoisted the pack onto my back and ran for my life. The fire was faster than me, and I could feel the heat radiating off of the wall of bright yellow and orange. The smake was messing with my senses, so I pulled my jacket up over my nose. Luckily, for me, it was drenched in sweat and water from when I dove my face in the water. It provided a blanket against the smoke.

My guess is that the fire is being used to force us all together. So, I took a different route. I steered slightly to the left, away from the lake. A couple of minutes later the fire stopped around me.

I stopped running and panted. I needed fresh air. I couldn't see ten feet away from me, the smoke was so thick. For all I know someone is out there right now, watching me, waiting to attack.

That's when I heard the hissing.

It wasn't normal, it didn't sound like the snakes back home. I looked around quickly for a source and saw a bright fire ball heading my way. I dodged it and listened for more hissing.

Another hiss. This time, I wasn't that lucky. It hit my calf. I shrieked, but it was muffled and rough from the smoke. I dropped to the ground and started rolling. The Gamemakers must be getting a kick out of this. Katniss Everdeen, the girl who was _actually_ on fire.

Another hit my jacket. I pulled it off quickly and started swatting it on the ground. It went out. I got up right when another fireball headed my way. It would've hit my face if I didn't move out of the way.

I ran. I ran as fast and as far away as I could from the fireballs. Surprisingly, I ended up back at the little pond I found earlier.

I gasped in relief and stuck my hands in the cool water. My mother always said that cold water will help with burns. Minor burns. That thought gave me and inkling of anxiety at what I would find on my leg.

I slowly looked down. The flesh was bright red, and blisters were welling up. Pus was oozing out of a blister that had popped. I jumped out of the water and kneeled behind the closest tree. My stomach was bent emptying itself. I lost all of my water and my rabbit.

When nothing was left, I managed to crawl back to the water. I examined my hands. They weren't as bad as my leg, but they were an angry pink. I stuck them back in the water.

I took a deep breath and looked back down at my leg. _Breath, Katniss. Breath._ After staring at it for a couple of minutes, I wondered what I should do. I could stick it in the water and hope that it helps.

I slowly took my boot off and stuck my leg in. It felt so cold and nice against my burned skin. I closed my eyes and stifled a moan.

I stayed by the water for at least an hour. The only time I got up was when the cannons started going off. I counted three.

I lifted my leg out of the water and gave a little shriek. The pain was so much more intense, now that it was out of the water. I winced as I pulled myself to my feet. It was getting dark out.

I limped around, looking for a tree. That's when I heard it.

Footsteps. They were subdued, but definitely footsteps. And definitely human.

I cleared my head. I had roughly a minute head start on them. I could tell there were at least five, maybe six, but that was all I counted. I found the tallest tree I could and scrambled up onto the branches, wincing when my burned flesh hit the hard bark.

I grabbed the closest limb to me. That's when I made my fatal mistake. I hissed as my leg accidently brushed a branch.

I know they heard me, I can hear them whispering.

"Did you hear that?"

"Who do you think it was?"

"Are you sure that it's even a person? I mean, it could just be a squirrel." That's my Peeta. I know he wasn't sure if it was me, but it was still close to where I saw the Careers last night.

Last night. Not even twenty four hours. It feels like an eternity since I've seen Peeta.

I climbed up the tree as slowly and as quietly as I could. I sat my stuff down on a fork in the branches.

I froze. Is someone watching me? I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I closed my eyes tightly and took a deep breath.

I opened my eyes and looked down. And, what do you know! Every single one of the Careers are standing underneath my tree looking up at me. Cato had an evil grin. Glimmer gave me a snug look, and pulled out an arrow and started toying with it. Clove took out a knife. The boy from District One held up his spear. The girl from District Four wasn't there, she must have died earlier.

Peeta looked up at me. His expression was so sad, so sorrowful, that a lump in the back of my throat started to form.

Cato opened his mouth to start speaking. "How's the weather up there?"

I shot him a quick cocky smile. "Great. You know, there's not much smoke up here at all. You should come up."

"I think I might." I smirked and grabbed my pack and moved farther up in the tree. I was about eighty feet high now, and I gave them the biggest smile I could muster up.

The smallest Career weighed at least fifty pounds more than me. There was a reason I was always the one to pick the highest apples in the tree, not Gale. Definitely not Peeta (I've never told him, but he couldn't climb a tree if his life depended on it. Ironic, in this situation.)

When Cato got about thirty feet up, his branch cracked and he fell. For a second, I thoughthe had broken his neck, but he got up to his feet and started swearing.

Glimmer walked to the center of their little circle. "Don't worry, Cato. I can take take care of _that._"

I felt the heat rise in my cheeks. I swallowed and cocked my head to the side. "Hit me with your best shot."

She raised my bow. I immediately criticised her technique. I couldn't help it; I've always been this way. Everything about it was off. The way she held her feet. The way she held her bow, and even the way it was aimed.

She managed to get it lodged in a branch near me. I reached over and pulled it out of the tree. I waved it over her head. She shot me a look that was filled with so much venom that I almost recoiled. But I didn't.

Clove pushed her to the side. "Let me handle this."

She jumped onto the tree. "So, Lover Boy, how do you feel about me killing your girlfriend? Do you think it should be fast? Or slow and painful?"

Peeta looked down at the ground. Even from up here I could see that he was shaking.

Clove overestimated herself. She got about twenty feet higher than Cato; she only stopped climbing when she heard the first crack. She was smart enough to get down.

"Okay." Cato said as he circled around the tree. "Okay, Twelve, you can stay up there." He turned to the rest of the Careers. "Can't stay up there forever, can she?"

I strapped my sleeping bag in. I looked down at them again. They were setting up camp, But Peeta just laid on the ground and stared up at me. I raised my fingers slightly, as if I was waving, and he did the same.

Glimmer saw our little exchange. "Cato, can I be the one to kill both of them?"

Peeta shot up. He walked over to her and grabbed her arm and furiously turned her around. "Don't you even _think _about it." With that he walked over to grab his sleeping bag.

Glimmer's mouth hung open. Stiffly, she pulled her stuff out. Cato grabbed it first. "You're keeping watch."

She nodded. Everyone climbed in their sleeping bags to go to sleep.

I set my head back against the tree. Off to my left, I heard a rustling sound coming from another tree. It was so quiet I thought I had imagined it.

I looked over. I saw a pair of eyes, glowing in the night sky. A skinny arm emerged from the foliage. I followed to where it was pointing, and-

_Oh no._

A/N: So that's Chapter Ten. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to continue this story... But a lot of you told me to continue :) I have some news to share, too: Luke and Ingrid made it official! I found out when I was on facebook with my friend and I screamed and screamed and screamed... By the time I was done screaming she was looking at me like I was a freak... Haha. I know she's reading this right now. ;)

How obvious is it what the cliffhanger at the end is? Haha, I'm so unoriginal ;)

I'm writing an original story. You know, it's not as hard as you think it would be. (I have edited it A LOT though...)


	12. Chapter 11

A/N: Chapter ELEVEN! I haven't updated in _forever._ But, now that I'm sick, I really have nothing to do besides read (you know, I just bought five books at the bookstore, so I don't really see why I'm not...) and clean. Don't even get me started on cleaning. ... I'm ranting. Let's get on with the story, shall we?

Chapter Eleven

I gulped. My eyes were glued to the tracker jacker's nest fifteen feet above me. I strained my hearing, and I could just hear a slight humming. It was subdued. The smoke had messed with their senses, too.

I glanced back down at the ground. Peeta was laying in his sleeping bag. Cato was arguing with Glimmer. The boy from District One was fiddling with some knives.

My gaze slid back up to Rue. Her bright yellow eyes were still watching me. I picked up my knife and made a sawing motion and pointed up to the nest. Her eyes bobbed and she slid back into the dark shadows of the evergreen.

I unpacked all of my things. I kept my knife out and set it on top of my sleeping bag. I stuffed my orange bag down where my feet go. Now all I needed was the anthem.

I waited for an hour, two hours, three hours. Then, finally, it came on.

The first was the boy from District Three.

I scrambled up the tree. I got a grip on the the branch that the tracker jacker nest was on. I winced. The rough bark did not help my wounded hands.

Back, forth, back, forth. I raked the knife through the branch.

I was right. The girl from Four is dead. But so were the girls from Six, Eight, and Nine.

I was only three quarters of the way through when the anthem ended. My hopes dwindled. I sagged as I climbed slowly down to my things.

I almost didn't notice the little white parachute that landed right in the middle of my sleeping bag.

I sucked in a breath. I hoped it was medicine, but food or water certainly couldn't hurt.

I sat the parachute in my lap and unfolded it. There, laying on the white fabric, was a small container.

I carefully unscrewed it and took a little sniff. Yep, it was deifinitely medicine. I scooped it out and spread it on my hands and almost moaned out loud. Oh, this relieved the pain right away! Nothing my mother could have made would have worked this well. This was brewed behind the closed doors of the Capitol labs.

I plunged my fingers back into the ointment. I took out a big glob and spread it lightly over my leg. If I had to stifle a moan for my hands, I had to stifle the urge to squeal when I put this on my leg.

Now that my leg and hands felt better, My eyelids were drooping. I took out my knife and slit a hole in my sleeping bag so i could let my calf hang out.

I slid in the sleeping bag and welcomed the warmth. Then, a thought that I had been pushing out of my mind since I entered the arena, wormed its way to the front of my mind.

Prim.

I took a shaky breath. She was probably watching me right now, either at home with Mother or in the square watching on the big screens. At home, she could have privacy from all of the prying people of Twelve, but in the town square she would get sympathy and support from others. Maybe even some food.

That thought led me to Gale. She was probably with him and the rest of the Hawthornes, wherever they were.

Is he watching, too? Or is he too hurt by me? Does he wish that I won't come home? Does he hate me? Does he still think I could be in love with him?

My thoughts faded as my mind pulled me into the dark hands of sleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I awoke at dawn. The sky was a rosy orange, but I couldn't see the sun yet.

Perfect.

"Rue!" I called softly.

There wasn't so much as a rustle when I saw her shadow sit up in the tree.

"Katniss?" She whispered.

"Go. I'm going to finish the nest."

"Alright." I could hear the hesistation in her voice. "Be careful."

I nodded, knowing she could see me.

Her shadow disappeared. The leaves brushed against eachother at the other end of the tree. It kept going down the line of trees until I couldn't hear her anymore. I held back the urge to laugh. Was that what she showed the Gamemakers? A picture of Rue hopping around and landing gracefully on the tables of the training center formed in my mind.

I glance down quickly.

Peeta.

What am I going to do about him?

Everyone else at the camp was sleeping, even Glimmer, who was leaning against the tree trunk.

I decided to take my chances.

"Peeta!"

His eyes slid open. They landed on me. I waved my hand, silently telling him to leave.

He got up and I cringed. He stepped on a twig. He froze in place. Very slowly, he moved, whipping his head around to see if anyone heard.

He got about thirty feet away before he started running.

Very quickly, I spread some more ointment over my hands before loading everything into my pack, except for my knife.

I practically hopped from branch to branch. Once I was close enough, I could hear the buzzing. It was faint, but not as faint as last night. It was still subdued.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see a little golden spot gleaming in the sunlight.

Tracker jacker.

I'm not going to have enough time.

I quickly gripped the knife in my slick hands and finished sawing off the branch. Back, forth, back, forth, back, forth.

The nest started humming. I could hear the tracker jackers waking up. One flew out, then another, then another...

Something stung behind my ear. I got two more stings, one on my arm and my knee. I wanted to cry out in pain, but instead bit down on my lip until I tasted blood.

Come on Katniss, you can tough this out. Just finish this, finish this and you will-

The branch snapped off.

My breath caught as it fell, catching on some branches. I almost thought it wasn't going to make it to the ground, that it was just going to get caught up in a branch and all of the mutated bees were going to come up and sting me until the venom killed me.

But it didn't. It fell to the ground and cracked open. Out swarmed thousands of gleaming golden tracker jackers, eager to find the one who disturbed their home. Instead, they found the Careers.

Glimmer was the first one awake. They landed right at her feet and she screamed. Everyone else jolted awake and fled, without even bothering with their posessions.

Smart kids.

Glimmer seemed to be swatting at them with _my_ bow, until she started twitching and fell to the ground. The rest of the tracker jackers went after the rest of the Careers, who probably sprinted back to the lake.

I slowly climbed my way down the tree, and fell the last few feet. The venom was trickling into my bloodstream, making me woozier by the second. When my eyes focused, my stomach heaved.

Glimmer was once a very beautiful girl. She had flawless skin and bright blonde curls, the bounced when she walked. She had a skinny frame, and she was very tall, taller then most of the girls that I've ever met. But now, I couldn't see that girl at all.

This girl, the one that was lying on the ground, was bloated to three times Glimmer's size. Her hair looked brittle and frail. Her skin was a collection of red bulging patches that were the size of a grapefruit.

The cannon sounded.

In her swollen fingers, she had my bow.

I raced to her, (well, more like stumbled) and grasped the bow. I grabbed a rock and started breaking her fingers, one by one. I pulled the bow out just in time for the swollen patches of skin to burst open with green pus.

Taking a deep breath, I shoved her body over so I could get the arrows. It took me four tries, but I got them out from under her.

I stood up and swayed. Everything seemed glazed over, with a new shine to it. It was like everything was shimmering.

I dragged myself forward a few feet until I heard thundering footsteps. It sounded like a thousand gun shots ringing through my ears.

"Katniss! What are you still doing here?"

I looked back. It was Peeta. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Run. _Run!_ They're coming back!"

He turned me around and pushed me forward a few feet. He sat me down in some underbrush. I heard voices. "_Wait here._ Don't come looking for me _at all_. Do you understand me?"

And then he was gone.

"Well, well, Mellark. I saw that you were long gone by the time of the tracker jacker attack."

"Cato."

I couldn't hear what happened next. Bright orange bubbles emerged from the ground around me. My eyesight faded. All that I could here was a single bird's call...

A mockingjay.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

My head was pounding. All I could feel was someone rubbing my cheek. I unstitched my eyes, only to be blinded by a pair of bright blue ones.

"Peeta?"

Before he could answer I fell unconscious once again.

A/N: Yayyyyyy I finally finished! Sorry for any typos. And I'm really sorry that I haven't updated. But you know what might help? Reviews! All you do is press that little blue button on the bottom of this page :)


	13. Author's Note 2 - Please Read!

Author's Note... For The Second Time

Honestly... I'm really sorry I kind of abandoned this story. I just have no clue what so ever I'm going to write next. If you guys really want me to continue it, then I guess I could write a chapter or two... ;)

But yeah, if you want me to write more, you're going to have to give me some ideas because I'm literally lost, haha. So... thanks for reading, and I really hope you've enjoyed what I've written so far!

P.S. I went back and read this-and _**wow. **_I can't spell at all, can I?

-Ali


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